


The Day I'll Always Be Grateful For

by molly16



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-02-08 19:25:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1953222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molly16/pseuds/molly16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One choice on one day saves a life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Day I'll Always Be Grateful For

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during Twilight (the season 2 finale)

"You really shouldn't go to work today Kate." Tony says as he helps me up from the bathroom floor.

I'm not going to let him win without a fight, so I say, "I know why I'm sick Tony, and no one can catch it."

I start brushing my teeth, then Tony says, "Do you want everyone to know?"

Since I have the toothbrush in my mouth, I shake my head, spit, then say, "I'm only staying home for today."

Tony nods and kisses my forehead, "Call me if you need anything. I will send people over accordingly." With that, he leaves and traps me at home, something that I'll always be thankful for.

When he gets home, the first thing I notice is that it's earlier than usual, then I notice the blood on his jacket, then his expression. My mind automatically goes to the worse. Did Gibbs or McGee or Abby or Ducky get hurt? What if Tony was the only one that escaped without a scratch? I always knew that Tony could read my mind, so it doesn't surprise me when he says, "They're fine. Becca was the one that died."

I sit down on the couch and a feeling that I've never felt before rushes through my veins, numbing every nerve on its way to my heart. My stomach twists, my hands shake, and my eyes start letting tears go without even consciously doing it. The world outside my apartment seems to be moving too fast. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I register that my phone went off, but I don't make any movement to get it. "How?" That's the only word I can get out, and even it seems like something impossible.

"Shot in the forehead. Ari. Gibbs killed Ari though." Tony says. I don't know if he was talking like that so I could understand, or if he's the same way I am-- nearly speechless.

I sit down next to Tony on the couch and lean on him. I was just texting her, telling her that I was pregnant. The person that looks at her phone first, I can't imagine having to do that. The thought of that makes my stomach hurt and makes a lump rise up into my throat. Only now does it fully hit me, I'll never see her again. Never talk to her again, never do anything with her again. For the first time, I'm fully aware of the tears going down my face and all I can do is add more. She was one of my best friends, almost like a sister to me. The tears come faster, accompanied by sobs. Tony turns and lets me wrap my arms around him and soak his shirt with tears.

After a while, Tony gets up and makes me eat something. It's almost impossible to eat with my stomach hurting and my eyes sore, but I manage somehow. The worst part of finding out someone died is what you feel after the initial shock.

"I don't think I can go to work tomorrow. Seeing her desk when I get off the elevator will definitely make me start crying." I say looking up at Tony.

Since he gets that it's hard for me, he just nods, then says, "I think Gibbs is expecting you to stay home. You two were really close."

The rest of the night is silent, and I go to bed early, just wanting to pretend that Becca didn't die. But if Becca hadn't have died, Ari would still be alive. Double sided sword, I guess.


	2. The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting through first hearing the news, that's hard. But the night after can prove to be a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that I haven't written anything in forever! I've been super busy with school and marching band, but now that marching season is over, I'll have more time to write (oh thank god). Now, the reason you all came here, the story.

I wake up in the middle of the night, terrified out of sleep by my dream. I roll over to get Tony to wake up, but he’s not there, making everything scarier than it needs to be. Even though I normally walk light on the stairs, my feet hit the stairs hard, making the house groan in protest. When I round the corner, I see the kitchen light on and see Tony leaning up against the counter, his thumbs dancing around the screen. “Tony.” I say, bringing him out of his texting induced trance.

“Are you okay Kate?” Tony asks me. He shakes his head at himself, “Of course you’re not okay. Why else would you be up now.”

All I can do is hug him. I never want to think of him dying, especially not at the hands of Ari. Tony rubs my back and puts his chin on my head. Maybe it’s how tired I am or how scared I was, but this simple hug makes me start to cry. Tony looks at me for a second, looking for some queue from me to tell him what to do, but I just shake my head. I don’t even know what I want him to do. After a second, I make up my mind. “I’m going to work tomorrow. It’s going to be hard, but I’ll have to go back eventually.”

My sudden change from definitely not going to work tomorrow to definitely going to work shocks Tony, and to be completely honest, it shocked me too. “Are you sure Kate? You two were really close.”

“I know. Sometimes it’s easier to face something when it still hurts than to reopen something that’s started to heal.” I look up at him, seeing his green eyes looking down into mine. “It’s something I’ve learned the hard way.”

Probably sensing an impending mood swing, Tony says, “Let’s go to sleep. After all, you are going to work tomorrow.” I nod and follow him up the stairs, my exhaustion starting to hit me again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think this would fit in at the beginning, but I will gladly take prompts. A lot of my trouble writing comes from having zero inspiration. These prompts might not end up with the ship you intended them for (unless you mention which one), but they will more than likely be written. Thank you!


	3. The Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first morning back at work after losing Becca isn't easy, and it's going to get a lot more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one night? Am I some sort of writing machine tonight? Dang. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

The next morning came too quickly for my liking. Not only with being sick, it was also only a matter of seconds before I realized what today was going to bring. The first day without Becca at her desk, not seeing her weird faces that she would make at me when I came up the elevator. I groan, today’s going to be hard, but it’s better than waiting to do this. Just get it over with, like ripping off a band aid. The more you anticipate it, the worse it is and the longer you wait, the more you dread it. This, however, is one band aid I wish I didn’t have to rip off.

Walking off the elevator, the worst part of the entire day. I hope. Her desk sits, empty and, aside from some sheets of paper and pens, bare. A person I don’t recognize is going through her desk. I would go ask what he’s doing and who he is, but I know that the only thing that would do is bring tears, not something I want to do today. Tony stands on the side closest to her desk, trying to block my view, but it’s too late. I’ve already seen it and analyzed it. Suddenly, Tony’s hand feels like a weight on my stomach and I go flying to the bathroom. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a few people look up, not as if I registered any of it. Tony’s right behind me, as well as someone else. After I get myself back together, I not only see Tony, but I also see Gibbs in the reflection of the mirror. The one person I didn’t want it to be, and it was. This week has already been hard enough; I don’t want to deal with this right now. Making my attitude as clear as possible, I walk right past Gibbs and to the sinks. Even for me, the one person on the team who is, and never has been, intimidated by Gibbs, that was a risky move. Looking up from washing my face a little, I see Tony exchanging looks with Gibbs.

Preparing to use his maximum amount of words for the day, Gibbs says, “You two. Elevator. Now.”

My look must echo Tony’s. A look that only says one word—shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though there aren't that many people that read this, would you rather have me put up short chapters quickly or long chapters with at least a few days to a week between updates? Comment which one and I'll try to do that more often than the other.


	4. The Elevator and the Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be painful for Kate. I'm not going to lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The letter is finally entirely italicized! I'm also going back through and making the formatting less like a text wall and more like the format you would see on Wattpad.

McGee looked over as we walked to the elevator, Gibbs leading the way, with his head slapping hand conveniently free. I looked back at McGee one last time before getting in the elevator with Gibbs and Tony, silently telling him to pray for me. Once in the elevator, as predicted, it turns into half interrogation room, half conference room. The interrogation room part is what makes most people nervous, but I’m one of the few that aren’t. Even Tony’s trying to avoid looking at Gibbs.

“Speak before I start slapping.” Gibbs says. Clearly, he hasn’t finished his first cup of coffee yet. I’m usually the one to talk, but this time, I look at Tony. This isn’t one hundred percent my fault. “DiNozzo, you have five seconds to start talking.”

I smack Tony’s leg, just to get him started. Tony keeps looking down at me, whether it’s for permission to say what he’s about to say or to have somewhere to look besides Gibbs. Since my slap didn’t work, Gibbs smacks him on the back of the head. That gets him to talk. “Kate’s pregnant. That’s why she wasn’t here yesterday.”

After taking a sip of coffee, Gibbs says, “I knew that much. Why are you two here today?”

Since I know Tony won’t say anything else unless Gibbs slaps him again, I say, “I wanted to come. It seemed like a better idea to face everything that comes with losing Becca sooner than later.”

Gibbs looks at me, not as if he’s angry with me or disappointed that he’s going to have to get another agent for field work soon, but like he’s proud of me. “Whatever works for you Kate.” The elevator starts again, and Gibbs says, “I’ll talk to you two separately later. Kate, just do whatever you can do.” I nod, not wanting to have an attitude, because I like this job.

When we get back to our desks, McGee looks at us like we’re crazy. “And Gibbs just let you guys go? No talking to you separately?”

Tony leans back in his chair. “That’s later Probie.”

“Can’t spoil it all now.” I say leaning forward onto my elbows.

The mystery man from Becca’s desk comes over and says, “I’m guessing you’re Kate?” I just nod, too tired to say anything. “Who’s McGee?” Hearing his name, McGee’s head pops up. “DiNozzo?” He asks. That makes Tony go into dramatic mode, which I haven’t seen in awhile. “So this is Gibbs’ desk?” He says, putting the envelope down.”

“Don’t open it Kate. Let DiNozzo open his first.” McGee says, smiling at Tony.

Tony looks over at McGee and says, “Let’s have you open it first, since you didn’t have to stay in isolation with Kate and almost die.”

McGee looks at me. “I was even pregnant when we were in isolation. Your turn to release a plague.”

This does get McGee to open his envelope first, before he realizes what I said. “You are? Wow.”

I just roll my eyes and open the envelope. I know it’s from Becca, I recognize the handwriting and we both did the same thing, wrote letters to our friends in case we died.

_“Katie, ___  
  
_I know that you’re probably already close to tears, so I’ll try not to make it any worse, but I saved writing your letter for last because I have so much to say to you. If the paper is a little weird looking in some places, it will probably be from me. Writing all of these has made me cry a lot, and especially writing this one. Even though this is supposed to remind you of all the things we did and stuff like that, at least that’s what all the other ones are, this is probably going to be more of a comfort letter than anything. Imagining a world without you is so hard, and knowing that you’re facing that right now, I just can’t even begin to wrap my head around it. However I died, whether it was on the job, accidental or something else, know that I probably thought of you.” ___

I look up and see that I’m the only one still reading. Becca wasn’t as close with those two as she was with me, so it makes sense.

_“Sometimes I wonder why I’m even writing these in the first place. Isn’t it a little weird to admit that you could die at any moment? I only hope that you aren’t the one to find these, hopefully buried under years of things that I never bothered to throw out. Remember the trip we took to Florida, how you said you would never forget it? Please don’t forget it. That trip is one of my best memories since I joined NCIS, and that’s saying a lot. The entire trip was amazing, but the part I remember most was when we were sitting on the beach looking at the water, daring each other to go in first. For the record, I would have gone in first if I didn’t know about that wet t-shirt contest you won. Either way, I remember how much you loved being there, and I want you to go back one day and just remember me being there with you. Don’t cry while you’re there though. Please Kate. I don’t want to ruin one of your favorite vacation spots. ___  
_“Now, onto the part that will make everything a lot worse before it makes it any better. You get attached to people very quickly, and you’re slow to release. You’re going to hurt for a long time, maybe a month before it starts to even seem like it’s going to get better. Trust me, there will still be nights ten years or more down the road when you’ll think of me and cry yourself to sleep that night. I’m not going to deny it, that would just make it worse. I’m letting you know how big of a battle you’re up against, how it’s not going to go away in a week, or maybe even a few months. Don’t you ever think that you should have gone first, that it would have saved both of us pain, because it wouldn’t. I would be sitting somewhere crying my eyes out over your letter, wishing that you could come back, but knowing that you can’t. The point of all this is don’t let this get to you so badly that you shut people out, that you shut yourself out. Maybe none of this is making sense now, but I promise you that it will. I wrote a few more letters that I want you to read on certain dates. One year after my death, two years, five years, ten years, and if you make it that long or I die that young, fifteen and twenty years. Set a reminder right now, or else you’ll forget. It doesn’t seem like you’ll ever forget the day, but you will. I love you Kate. Don’t ever forget that. ___  
_Becca.” __  
_

I look inside the envelope again and see seven letters, more than should be included. I pull the odd one out, and read the writing on the top of it. “Read this when you feel completely alone, like no one’s there anymore.” Knowing that she doesn’t mean now, I put it back in the envelope along with the original letter. Tony rubs my arm, and then I realize how much I was actually crying. Silently, I get up and walk to the bathroom, where I almost run into Abby, holding her envelope, still sealed.

“Oh, Kate.” Abby says before hugging me.

“She was one of my best friends Abby.” I say, though my voice makes my sentence sound choppy and almost like a three year old could have articulated it better. “How can I move on from that?”

There’s no answer, just silence from both of us, with the exception of our crying breaking the silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally, I don't cry when I write things, but I cried writing this. Parts of the letter where Becca is telling Kate that she's not going to get over it for quite a while and that there will still be nights where she'll cry at night are based on things that happened to me. I've never lost a friend before, but I've lost really close family and still feel the loss some nights.


	5. Back to Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As expected, going back to work means investigating another crime scene and looking at another dead body.

Tony walks in the bathroom, “You okay Kate?”

I get the last of my ruined makeup off, and then look up at Tony. Abby breaks the silence, a sniff coming from the stall. Peeking under the door, I see her still reading her letter. For her sake, I hope Becca added some funny things in there. Tony looks at me, and I say, “I could be better. At the very least, I’m not sick.”

Knowing how hard I’m trying not to cry, so he doesn’t touch me, knowing it would make it worse. “It could be worse. You could be upset and sick.”

Abby comes out of the stall, her eyes red and still watery. “I know Abby.” I say, seeing the letter back in the envelope.

Gibbs sticks his head in, “Kate, DiNozzo, let’s go.”

I leave first, if I spend any more time in there with Abby, I’m going to start crying again. McGee’s at my desk, grabbing my bag for me. His eyes, however, stay on the envelope I left sitting. Before he sees me, I yell, “If you like having two hands, do not touch that envelope!”

McGee runs over to us, one bag on each shoulder and holding one. My bag is the one in his hand, Tony’s is the one on his back. As soon as Tony and I get in the elevator, his hand finds his way to mine and doesn’t release until Gibbs stops the elevator. “DiNozzo, keep Kate from getting hurt.” Gibbs turns to me, “Kate, if you need to leave, leave. Don’t make yourself sick.” He turns the elevator back on, Tony’s grip a little tighter on my hand.

When we get to the crime scene, it’s bad. There’s shattered glass everywhere, broken tables and lamps. The worst part is all the blood that’s on the walls. Normally, it wouldn’t affect me, but this is an insane amount. Almost as quickly as I enter the house, I have to leave. There was a smell throughout the entire house, not the same smell every scene has, but almost a sour smell. That’s what makes me feel sick.

Tony follows me out, noticing my scrunched up nose. “No more crime scenes for you?” Tony asks.

I shake my head. “It wasn’t that smell, it was something else entirely. It was sour smelling, worse than the normal smell.”

“Think it could be coming from the body?” Tony asks.

The wind picks up, whipping my hair around, and making the smell come outside. “It’s possible. All I know is that now it’s out here.” Tony sniffs, obviously looking for what I’m smelling. “You probably won’t be able to smell it. I’m going in the truck before it makes me sick.”

Tony follows me into the truck and willingly sits in the middle so I can lean my head on him. I just start falling asleep when I hear people yelling outside. “Kate! DiNozzo! Get down!” Gibbs yells. Just behind him, McGee, Ducky and Palmer are all running away from the house. Tony pushes my head down onto his lap so he can go down on top of me. The doors open, and I see everyone else taking cover from what I’m assuming is a bomb. After about two minutes, the bomb explodes, sending evidence flying. It all makes sense now. Set a bomb so that when the murder starts getting investigated, at the very least, it will ruin some evidence. The maximum amount of damage, agents die. Gibbs gets up, then looks around. “Get up.” He says. “Bag and tag McGee. Stay DiNozzo.”

I try to push Tony up, but he pushes down. “You probably don’t want to see this Kate.” Tony says.

After a minute of being down, Tony gets up, letting me up. There’s a blood smear on the windshield, leaving me to my imagination as to what was on there. Even though I thought I slept well enough, I must not have. Shortly after sitting up, I lean on Tony again and surrender to sleep.

“Kate.” Tony says. “Wake up.”

I moan a little, then open my eyes, only to have a light shone into them. “What the hell Tony?” I ask, still annoyed from being woke up.

“Wasn’t me, I swear. It was Palmer.” Tony says, pointing in Palmer’s direction.

Sure enough, Palmer has a little flashlight in his hand. It looks like I’m down in autopsy, but that’s impossible. One, I’m alive, and two, I wouldn’t have been able to get down here without waking up. “What’s going on?” I ask, confused beyond the normal amount for just waking up.

Looking at Tony for answers, I notice tears on his cheeks. Every ounce of me wants to reach out and touch him, give him some comfort, but I can’t. It’s as if I’m tied down. Palmer looks away from me and leaves the room, retreating into the hallway. With supersonic hearing, I can make out Palmer saying, “I can’t do an autopsy on her. I can’t even be in the room. We already have an idea about how she died; do we have to do this?”

Ducky replies, “I can do it. I know it’s hard to autopsy a friend, almost a family member, but it’s not impossible Jimmy.” I can’t be dead though, I’m pregnant with Anthony DiNozzo’s baby, engaged to him. There’s no way.

Just before Ducky makes the first cut, I get woken up by Tony’s loud almost yelling. I see Tony, Gibbs and McGee just staring at me. It takes me a second before I realize where I am. I’m alive; I’m safe. With one look, Tony says everything that needed to be said. It was a nightmare, not real life. Usually, nightmares like that don’t happen; only the usual being chased and not being able to get away ones happen. This one was so real; it was so easy to believe it was actually happening. The second after I realize I’m okay, I start crying. Tony holds me close to him and Gibbs rubs my back for a little while before getting back in the driver’s seat. “You’re okay Kate.” Tony says so only I can hear him. “I got you. It’s okay.” These words calm me down enough so that by the time we’re back at NCIS, no one would be able to tell what had just happened.

“I should not have gone to work today.” I mumble to myself.


	6. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been busy, mainly with school and finals week, but here's the next chapter! Enjoy.

After what seemed like a never ending day, Gibbs finally lets us go home. The only thing I can think of is the case, mainly the bomb. After losing Becca and coming that close to losing everyone, I just want to be home with Tony. This week has already been horrible, and it’s only Tuesday.

Seeming to know exactly what I need, Tony reaches his hand across the middle and puts it on top of mine. “Rise to the top of the world, America.” Tony says quietly.

“America, don’t you cry.” I say.

Finishing the section, Tony says, “Lift me up, give me strength to press on.”

There’s a little bit of silence, something that’s been happening a lot more now that Becca died. While we’re used to silence at home, normally we’re talking about something on the way home from work. Even though I normally break silence, I let it stay this time. There’s something about it being here in this exact moment that just feels right. Without knowing, I lean on my elbow and open the window, letting the cold late fall air in. “Sorry.” I say, rolling it back up. If only I knew what to say right now, what words could fit here without sounding stupid. Tony turns on the radio, filling the car with some stupid song that neither one of us likes, but it covers the silence. I guess that’s all either one of us can do right now, cover the silence, not break it.

After a while, Tony says, “You had a nightmare?”

“Yeah.” I say, looking down at my necklace. I twist the cross on it around, something I’ve always done when I get nervous or jittery. For some reason, it calms me down, as if my dad is right next to me, telling me I can do whatever I’m nervous about.

Since we’ve been dating for a while, and known each other for a few years longer, Tony picks up on it. “Nervous Katie?”

“Understatement of the century.” Suddenly the cross isn’t enough to calm me down and a bad habit comes back to the surface. Even though there’s nothing there, I start picking at my lip, something I swore I would never do again. “I’m not even going to see her, I’m just calling her.” I say, trying to convince myself that it’s not a big deal. “She’s going to find out eventually, I really can’t hide this.”

Tony takes an old wallet out of the pocket in the door and hands it to me. “Pick at that instead. Don’t want to be dealing with a sore lip tomorrow.”

I take the wallet, and almost immediately start to pick at it until we get to my apartment. There’s a mess on the mat, but it’s something Tony expected for me to do. When we open the door, I immediately notice that something’s off. Not quite wrong, but definitely not right. Tony picks up on it too, his hand on his gun. Knowing that it’s probably nothing, I follow behind him, my nerves getting more and more intense. Our bedroom door is open, something that never happens during the day, and inside is my mom asleep on the bed. I reach around Tony and close the door as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake her.

“Looks like you are going to see her.” Tony says, earning him a punch in the arm.

“She doesn’t even know about us, I thought that I would have time to tell her.”

Tony looks at me like I’m crazy. “What? She doesn’t really like you. Don’t take it personal, the only reason she doesn’t like you is your job. She doesn’t want me to get hurt.”

Tony takes my hand and pulls me into the living room. “That’s fine. I don’t care if your parents aren’t crazy about me as long as we’re crazy about each other.” He starts to pull me in close to him, and I don’t protest. “I love you Katie.”

“You’re the best.” I say, my arms reaching up to his shoulders. “I love you.”


	7. Good Morning

The next morning, in addition to getting sick, I have to deal with telling my mom that I’m pregnant. It’s not something that I’m really looking forward to, and Tony’s been extra attentive since we noticed my mom here. Probably so I don’t act weird when he’s like this in front of my mom, really trying to convince her that he’s not the person he seems to be.

Since we’re up before my mom, I send Tony out into the kitchen to hide the coffee so it won’t look weird when we don’t have any. Right now, the smell of it makes me sick, so I don’t want my mom finding it and making it before we get home.

When Tony comes back, about ten minutes later, I go out with him, making everything look normal and natural. Normally, it’s easy to start talking about something with Tony, but this morning, all I want to talk about is how to tell my mom, but I can’t because she’s literally in my apartment, probably within earshot. To distract me, Tony starts talking about the case. “McGee said that she was going to get a scholarship to Juilliard. I guess that’s really good.”

“Good?” I ask. Tony looks confused. “They accept less than 10% of people who apply, and scholarships are practically unheard of.”

“How would you know all this?” Tony asks.

I get a picture of my friend on my phone. “Because of her.” I turn my phone around and Tony’s jaw drops. “She’s one of my best friends. We used to take dance classes together when we were little and we stayed in touch.”

Just then, my mom comes out of the room, smiling at both of us. She must still be half asleep or think that McGee’s standing there. Never in a million years would she be happy to see Tony standing with me, both of us clearly not ready to go to work. “Good morning sweetie.” My mom says, kissing my cheek as she passes by. “Good morning Tony.” She adds, sending a smile in his direction. “You two seem quiet.”

A look passes between Tony and I, but I subtly shake my head no. “It is 5:30 in the morning.” I say, hoping Tony doesn’t say anything stupid.

“Even though Kate’s cold feet woke me up a half hour ago.” Tony says, sliding the file over to me. “I told you that she was talented, you just didn’t believe me because McGee said she wasn’t.”

I glance over the first few pages, “McGee couldn’t find anything. If she was that talented, she would be somewhere online. Other than social media, which looked like they were just set up, with none of her friends or followers being dancers or actors, proving my point.” I slide the folder back to Tony, sending him on a flipping spree, trying to find something that would prove me wrong. “Don’t even try. There’s nothing in there that will go against what I just said. I’m going to go get dressed, so you’ll have some time to read.”

When I’m almost in the bedroom, I glance back at Tony and smile. Leaving them together, I know what I did. He’s going to hate me for it, but it needs to be done. Sooner or later, they’re going to have to talk without me there, so I’m just making it easier down the road. After I get ready, I put my ear to the door, just to hear what’s going on, make sure my mom isn’t killing Tony.

Everything seems to be going fine until I hear my mom yell, “Caitlin Rose! Get your butt out here!”

She found out. How? Tony knew not to say anything, and I don’t think he would say anything. I look around for my phone, only to see that it’s missing. A text from Cheryl. That must have been how she found out, there’s no other way. When I walk out, Tony’s looking down at the counter, not even bothering to look at the folder. My mom however, has my phone in her hand, looking at me, then at the phone, then back at me.

“I hope you were planning on telling me soon.” My mom says, her voice a lot calmer than I expected.

If someone were to look at us, it would look like both Tony and I were getting in trouble, not just me. “I was going to tell you sometime today, I just didn’t know when.” Until then, I hadn’t noticed that I was crying.

My mom smiles and comes over to me, “It’s fine Katie. After all, I didn’t kill Tony.” I smile a little and look up at her. “I knew that would make you smile. Congratulations Katie.” While we’re hugging, she whispers, “Now don’t you kill Tony.”

“No promises.” I say loud enough for Tony to hear.

Tony looks up, “No promises what?”

“Nothing.” My mom and I say at the same time.

Tony walks into the bedroom. “I don’t trust you two anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's amazing what I can do when I really don't want to go back to school. That and I'm up during the night, when I'm most productive (if I'm awake). Anyway, the next chapter will most likely be case related, so it will probably be short.


	8. Dream

At work, we’re still trying to find the murderer, which isn’t surprising. A case closed in one day would be too easy. Although the case is definitely close to the front of my mind, Becca wanders up and performs a solo every once and awhile. When she’s not doing that, the case is doing an intricate duet with my mom. Tony throws a paper airplane at me and until it’s right in front of my face, I don’t notice.

“Told you something was wrong probie.” Tony says, coming over to my desk.

McGee shrugs and Gibbs walks in, making sure to keep his coffee as far as possible from my desk. I open the folder again and look at the girl’s picture. Well, more stare than look. She’s gorgeous, it’s really not fair. After a minute, I notice something not right in the picture, something that didn’t show up when we had her picture on the screen. It almost feels like writing, like someone wrote on the front of the paper, then put her picture over it.

“I think I have something.” I say, running my finger over it once more. Again, I can easily feel the writing, someone really wanted one of us to notice it. “Abby needs to look at it though.”

Within a few seconds of getting up, Tony’s trailing close behind me, breathing down my neck almost. “What Tony?” I snap when we get in the elevator.

“Nothing.” Tony puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Just wondering what you were thinking about earlier. You were so out of it.”

It takes me a second to come up with how to explain it. “Everything Tony, just everything.” Even though I’ve looked at her picture for about ten minutes, I start to recognize a very familiar face. She looks like the old drum major I had in high school, but I know it’s not her. “I think I know who this girl is related to.” I say.

Tony just looks at me, “Who?”

“Vanessa Elaine.” I can tell from the look Tony’s giving me that he doesn’t believe me. “Yes, that’s her last name. I went out with her brother for a while, then he cheated on me.” I close the folder, “Would have gotten away with it too if Vanessa didn’t keep an eye on him for me.”

“Do you still talk to her?” Tony asks as the elevator doors open.

I nod, “Yeah. Not as much as we used to, but still a lot considering how much I hate her brother.” Abby jumps on me, I'm guessing she has news.

While half listening to Abby, I look out the window and notice someone walking past the window, going out of sight for about five seconds, then walking back and repeating the process. I seem to be the only one that notices, but that only makes me go more on edge. The fact that this person knew that no one looks out that window long enough to notice that, it’s creepy, to say the least. “I hate to interrupt, but that person has been pacing by your window for however long you’ve been talking.” I look up at the window, careful not to make any hand movements.

Watching, we all decide that yes, this person is in fact doing this on purpose and that we should leave the room and send Tony out. Of course, Tony didn’t agree at first, but Abby and I just had to convince him a little. Abby is a forensics genius, but not that great with the agent thing. I knew I wasn’t going out, I’m pregnant. So, that left Tony.

While Tony’s outside, Abby and I are holding our breath, hoping that nothing happens to him. Despite our hopes, Tony sends me a text, “Get everyone out of the building. Right now. He planted a bomb.”

I run and pull the alarm to get everyone out of the building when I hear it. The one sound I didn’t want to hear. The sound of a bomb going off, something I know all too well. The building shook just enough to scare me, but it was nothing when I remembered that Tony was outside. I could feel my face turn white as I was almost becoming paralyzed. It was only when Abby said something that I moved. The elevator would be too slow, and I was only going up one floor, so I almost flung open the stair door.

Never before have I ran that fast, never have I pushed my way through the crowd like I did. Almost like it was from a movie, Tony comes around the corner with the sun right behind him, illuminating the hair that sticks up to look like a halo. “Katie.” I hear him say, but it’s too close to be him. “Kate!”

With that, I bolt up, realizing I was in a dream. Tony comes right next to me and kneels down so we’re eye to eye. “You okay?” He asks, almost afraid of my reaction.

“Yeah. I’m good.” I say, pushing myself away from my desk. “I think I noticed something earlier. Where’s the file?”

Tony keeps one eye on me as he glides over to his desk. “I thought I heard you say a name, but it wasn’t even close to the victim’s name.”

My eyes hurt from the bright sunlight, but I try to focus on the paper. “What did I say?”

“I don’t know. It ended in "essa." Vanessa maybe?”

I jump up, file in my hand, knowing exactly what I was thinking about in my dream before it went south. Tony follows me, close enough so that I can almost hear his confusion. “I know who the person is. And it’s not the girl that was getting a scholarship to Juilliard. It’s a much more humble person.”

When we walk in, I see what looks like a caffeine deprived Abby, except for the fact that there’s an untouched cafpow right next to her. Sending one look in Tony’s direction, he knows to leave. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I put the file down on a free space.

“Abby?” I ask, coming up behind her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about Becca.” She cracks her fingers, then says, “So, why’d you come all the way down here?”

I pick up the file and run my hand over the picture, definitely writing and definitely still there. “There’s something written behind this picture. I have no idea what, but there’s something there.”

Abby runs her finger over it and says, “There is.”

After a test, it’s revealed that the writing says, “Mark time mark sister. You’re next.”

“I knew it!” I say, “That’s something Vanessa would say to her sister all the time.”

"You know who this is?"

"Sarah Elaine. I'm friends with her sister."

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've ever written Kate in a fanfic, so if there is anything that is definitely not something Kate would do, feel free to tell me.


End file.
